Saturday, July 18, 2009

PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Sunday

Scripture lesson: Mark 6:30-34,53-56 Feeding the 5000 (and many more)

Time to reflect: There have been a lot of ingenious explanations about how Jesus did this, but all such explanations are beside the point. The ancients didn't care how it happened, and we are distracted by such questions. The things of importance are the religious, not scientific, issues: The crowd's adoration, Jesus' compassion, the Disciple's cluelessness, the fact that Jesus took care of their bodily needs while also attending to their spiritual needs.



Moving through the day: Are there other “beside the point” questions that keep you from focusing on the real issues?

Scripture:

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.


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